


Restless Sea

by Prince_of_Heart



Series: Homestuck [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: AU, F/F, F/M, Feferi and Meenah are adopted, Implied Death, M/M, Merstuck, Other, Song Based, based on a real place, dirkjake - Freeform, erifef mention, fefjade, jadefef - Freeform, jake and jade are adopted, jakedirk - Freeform, mermaid au, rosemary
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-05 22:49:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18838375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prince_of_Heart/pseuds/Prince_of_Heart
Summary: “The sea is emotion incarnate. It loves, hates, and weeps. It defies all attempts to capture it with words and rejects all shackles. No matter what you say about it, there is always that which you can't.” -Christopher Paolini, Eragon





	1. Preface

Let me begin by saying this is a repost, so the first few chapters are exactly the same as I originally wrote them. There were just so many tiny things I had to change that I decided to reupload! Also thank you so much for clicking onto my story, and I do hope you enjoy it! So, some facts to state before we start this fanfiction.

 

1.) This story takes place in the island setting of a very real Puerto Rican island known as Isla de Mona. It's in fact, very small, and uninhabited in real life. But for the story basis, Grandma Harley and Grandpa English settled on the island with his immense amounts of money he makes as a billionaire traveler and entrepreneur, so that his wife, now ex (Yes, they are married but separated in this story) could set up an island conservation to preserve its natural beauty. She does this from an observatory on the South end of the isle, whilst he is rarely home, and on business trips overseas.

 

2.) Grandma Harley and Grandpa English adopted Jake & Jade, whomst are both island natives from another part of Puerto Rico.

 

This also makes any and all trolls involved in this story, human, save for a few that will be explained later.

 

They also, have a wide variety of ethnicities because I did not want an all white cast to be living in Puerto Rico. It just didn't make sense. Below is a reference for that.

 

Grandma & Grandma - British English/Polynesian

Jake & Jade - Taino Indian/Spanish Puerto Rican mixed

Rose Lalonde - Spanish PR/North American mixed

Roxy - No technical race, but Southern Arctic mer-descent

Dave Strider - North American

Dirk - No technical race, but Southern Arctic mer-descent

Karkat Vantas - Mixed Hispanic

The Maryams - Afro-Puerto Rican (Ancestry predominantly from Haiti)

The Amporas - An English/PR mixed

The Peixes - Spanish PR (fair)

 

 

Bloodlines Explained:

 

\- Feferi and Meenah are siblings.

\- So are Cronus and Eridan.

\- Dualscar adopted the Peixes girls, whereas Eridan and Cronus are sons from his first marriage.

\- Eridan has an unrequited crush on Feferi.

\- As of this VERY moment with where I am writing the story, Dave & Dirk will be present characters, and so will Rose, but Roxy is confirmed deceased. 

\- Dave is not related to Dirk, Rose is not related to Roxy ( however she is still Mom Lalonde's daughter, whomst is also not relative to Roxy ).

\- Rose & Dave would be cousins. She will be the reason he gets an easy in island visa.

\- Kanaya lives with Porrim, no mother or father affiliated. They are also siblings. Kanaya being a natural conservationist and Porrim being a tour guide/conservationist that originally moved with Kanaya for a more private, sun-inclusive lifestyle.

 

I hope that helps when you're reading! I may add to this list as the story goes on!


	2. Deep Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> /An excerpt from the drabble I wrote that started this;/
> 
> The wind sure was brisk today, sending the unusually icy waves of the Atlantic-Caribbean ocean crashing up on the rocks. Whether or not the water had changed the wind or vice-versa was left to speculation, but it sure had been getting awful cold lately on their little slice of tropical island. An outsider would view it as a paradise, with copious amounts of dark greenery, stunning white sands, and enough seashells washed up on the shore to build a castle out of. But of course, nobody had visited this island in ages. Something of a tall tale throughout the equatorial waters that kept wandering seafarers at bay. Tales such as those that included great mythic sea monsters, disappearing ships, catastrophic oceanic storms, and most recently; pirates.

The Puerto Rican sunshine was just as ruthless as it was a blessing, & likely would be for the rest of the week. The only reprieve from the dogging heat was the wind off of the Atlantic waves, sweeping over the lush landscape and dusting the ocean-side with crystalline sand. And while the indigenous plant life swayed in these gentle breezes, it caught up skirts in its path and dried the sweat on the foreheads of natives, making the humidity a little easier to bear. Although when you were adjusted to the natural climate and had lived in it your entire life, running amidst the palpable haze and kicking up sand in your path came with ease. Two island natives were chasing each other along the coast, with the sea winds at their backs.

 

Ahead of the young boy was a relative, a sister perhaps, younger and surely faster. Her hair streamed behind her, waving like a dark umber hair a shadow against the stark white sands and the vivid green waves. Not unlike her, but with shorter sideswept curls in something of a wave across his forehead, her taller, lankier counterpart was panting and pressed harder to catch up. As she only picked up speed, the young man in hot pursuit began to kick up the burning sand beneath his toes with the effort to stay within ten feet of her.

 

"GEE! Slow down there, Jade! This is a game of tag, not a marathon!"

 

But whether it was because he was beginning to feel out of breath or the rough sea breeze that stole his words away, she didn't seem to hear him. Jade, was his younger cousin. His name was Jake English. The two of them had been integrated into the residential head-rangers that kept this tropical island in tip-top shape. Grandma, whomst was the biggest advocate for a beautiful and natural living environment, was the more stern of their guardian figures. Although she came off as nicer and more altruistic, she tended to put her foot down whereas Grandpa was so often abroad he didn't likely have a say on the subject. And so, while Grandpa was away on adventures and Grandma was left to tend to the island and all of it's inhabitants'; that left Jake in charge of one thing.

 

Babysitting duty.

 

Although he didn't mind all too much. Jade was a very lively, happy child, and days like this while the weather was stifling, they were outside and giving chase just the same.

 

Trying to blow some of his curly hair away from his damp forehead, Jake nearly stumbled over something tumbling out of Jade's arms. He skidded to a stop and scooped it up with a huff before taking right back off again, and he'd have to do this another several times within the minute. Jade must've lumped all of the seashells they'd been collecting into her little yellow sundress because they were one by one slipping out and nearly giving him a heart-attack when he almost raced right past before he could add them to the growing collection in his pockets.

 

"Jade!! Do slow down just a tad! You're- *huff* You're losing your pretty shells!"

 

God, and that girl really could run. But she must've heard him because she hugged her skirt a little closer and laughed, the soft peal of a sound floating back to his ears and reviving his smile right quick. He still couldn't managed to keep up with her, but as long as she was happy, as was he.

 

Just up ahead, they were approaching the northern-most point of the island. Famously, among those bluffs held a lighthouse, the only one on the entire isle and subsequently, directly across the island from where his Grandmother had decided to set their house in the south. Although it was unused now, it had never been torn down if only for its historical meaning. The hillside they raced along slowly became craggy, and sand became rock rather quick. As Jade slowed enough to scramble over the tide pools, Jake cringed at the new hard sensation against the bare soles of his feet.

 

"Be careful where you step, Jade! Maybe, we should go back now?"

 

Ah, too late. She'd already crested a rockface and hopped down to the other side, leaving Jake to pout as he could do nothing but follow. If he didn't and he lost sight of her, well, he was sure he could find her again. But if he didn't find her right away he'd panic like the worrywart he was. Golly, in retrospect he should have thought to bring Bec along. Becquerel was the family dog, and that good old boy always seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to such things.

 

He was beginning to get sidetracked with his thoughts again. He didn't even notice he had been focusing so hard on his footing until he looked up and realized they'd come a lot farther ahead than he had remembered being a couple minutes ago. The shoreline had become awfully close to the cliff-face, hardly discernible any longer between what was rock and what was wall. He knew that if they continued they would be in the northern caves, where the water ran real deep in the drop offs, and the undercurrents were unpredictable. Shielded only from crashing waves, but nothing that might lurk in the depths.

 

Most importantly, there was no sign of-

 

"Jade..???"

 

Fumbling to a stop with heavy pockets and his lungs burning for air, Jake whipped around to look behind him. It was still sunny and bright away from the shade of the bluffs, but no sign of her. Ahead, the cliffs rose higher, looming like a large, hungry monster, hunkering down for the kill. The only constant; watching, weighing down on him silently as it waited for his next move.

 

No, now stop that. Imagining a bunch of eyes and teeth on this big hunk of rock just ended up giving him the willies. When he looked to his right, the sea gave him no solace. The waves here were a deep, dark green, much harder to see through. The tide pools between the stones were still clear and navigable, but there were way too many fairytales about what lay beneath the deeper waters for Jake to believe in. Honestly, he'd have to shake this stuff off sooner or later. He was almost 10 years old.

 

"Uhm, Jade! If you can hear me, you won! I'll go and make you a necklace with the shells we got, so why don't we just head along home already, huh? Grandma will be looking for us!"

 

Really, he hadn't expected much of a response. Jade wasn't all too talkative for a 6 year old. But while he swayed on the boulder he stood on, debating a jump to the one a foot in front of him; he got a response. Faint, but surely not far.

 

"Jake!"

 

And then a familiar giddy squeal that made the heart in his throat drop a couple levels with relief. Taking up his pace again and pinching the hem of his pockets together to reassure himself he wouldn't drop any shells, he dropped from the last boulder and cringed against the way his feet sunk into the damp sand. There was a crest of it, thin and winding down beneath a brilliant stone arch that lead into more caves. Now that he was here, no sunlight could reach beyond the shade cast by the overhang, and the rockface was smoother now; long weathered away by the crashing of the sea.

 

Shuddering against the chill of the shade, he drew closer to his adopted sibling and crouched down with her, beside the lapping waves. So close to the water, Jake could see the sheer drop off when he looked down. It was especially dark beneath the rocks as they were, but even if it hadn't been he knew it must be deep. He could just barely make out the lip of a sandcliff three feet below the surface, but otherwise, there was nothing to see but soupy blackness. And a glance to Jade showed that she was beyond happy to be sitting on the brink of danger and play with her shells that she shuffled in the wet sand; as children were oft to do.

 

But then upon closer inspection, Jake drew in a breath at the sight of her collection.

 

"Blimey..!"

 

Instead of the standard oyster shells that he could remember leaving her with, Jade had much fewer shells than she had originally been carrying, and they were much, /much/ more unusual & rare. As he reached for one, Jade let him without worry, and he turned the smooth, sea green stone over and over again in his hands.

 

“Now where, did you get this?”

 

It was sea glass, and really, nothing about that would be so spectacular if he didn’t personally know it was nonexistent on this island. One more minor fact about their guardians, is that their grandmother was a STRICT enforcer of a few easy-to-follow but unbudging rules on this island. And one of those rules, meant no littering of any sort. So for glass to even wear this thin, was nearly impossible.

 

“A fish!”

 

When Jake snapped out of it, he watched Jade’s fingers jab in the direction of the murky green depths. Even when he really squinted, he still couldn’t make anything out but indistinct shadows of the water.

 

“A fish, huh?”

 

“A big fishie! He gave me shells.”

 

Her reply was so blasé and content that Jake was almost baffled when she laughed, looking back to the waves with mild confusion.

 

"Really? Did he now?"

 

Jade was nodding, already turning back to her small collection of shells that weren't piled in her skirt and Jake stole a glance at it. Most of what she had in front of her was of the same baffling variety. Not one, not two, but at least four more decent-sized chunks of colored sea glass, and to top it all off, a lovely sand dollar. Perfectly in tact.

 

"How did you- Jade. Where did the fishie go?"

 

Looking up at Jake with wide green eyes, Jade seemed to take a moment to process this for a moment before looking down at the water and Jake followed her line of sight. Nothing but that same, harsh incline into the deep. And beneath the shadows cast by the overhang they were currently beneath, he couldn't see a single thing below. Something about that pitch blackness and what kind of fish it might hold should be highly disconcerting to him, but his curiosity was quickly beginning to get the best of him. He was more in wonderment as to how Jade might've reached these things when the nearest crag was at least three and a half feet deep and would have easily eclipsed her head.

 

"Can you show me?"

 

Nodding so vigorously that it sent free-flying hairs in every direction, Jade squirmed until she could get up and dropped down onto her knees in front of the water. Her face got visibly more excited as she sifted through the seashells he had remembered helping her pick out before this entire chase had started. And then, after deeming a small, round black scallop shell perfect for whatever she needed, she held it out in her little fist. Above the bottomless water.

 

"He likes the smooth ones. Not the curly ones."

 

Jake cast a confused glance towards her face, but Jade was smiling as she easily let the shell drop into the sea. When he looked back, the last trace of its sinking was already gone, and the ripples were just subsiding from its voyage into the deep. It took a good minute of staring, but still nothing happened, and he furrowed his eyebrows.

 

A moment passed, and then another. And then he was sure a whole minute passed by and he hadn’t blinked, but not so much as a bubble resurfaced. Nothing to see, nothing heard but the wind on the waves, echoing along the cavern walls with a hollow whine that sounded almost haunting; and it made Jake feel a little cold along his spine.

 

Maybe Jade had just been imagining the fish in the first place. She was a rather bright child after all, with many big dreams, and it honestly made him feel a little silly to even think for a second that there was a fish out there trading seashells with his young cousin.

 

"Jade, that was a waste of a-"

 

She suddenly shrieked with joy and had Jake nearly jumping out of his skin.

 

"Look! LOOK!"

 

Her grubby little hands jabbed at the water, and she was jumping up and down like she'd just gotten a pretty pink-bow-wrapped pony for Christmas. And through it all, Jake was utterly confused. He still would be had he not looked down, and directly into the big, golden eyes of a boy.

 

He was underneath the waves, and one of his arms had come up out of the water while he wasn't paying attention. He watched in silent shock as his webbed fingers came up to Jade. She cupped her hands and held them out to him as if she'd done it already, probably 5 times before if Jake had counted the shells right. And in her empty hands, he had placed an upturned shell, glittering on the other side like abalone.

 

Jumping Jehoshaphat.

Unlike Jade who clasped the shell over her heart like a dear treasure, Jake's initial reaction was to quite literally stumble backwards, falling over himself for footing. The creature in the water instinctively shot back, a flash of its fins flattening against the sides of his throat before its visage was too blurred for Jake to make out clearly; and he shrieked.

.

.

.

 

The wind sure was brisk today, sending the unusually icy waves of the Atlantic-Caribbean ocean crashing up on the rocks. Whether or not the water had changed the wind or vice-versa was left to speculation, but it sure had been getting awful cold lately on their little slice of tropical island. An outsider would view it as a paradise, with copious amounts of dark greenery, stunning white sands, and enough seashells washed up on the shore to build a castle out of. But of course, nobody had visited this island in ages. Something of a tall tale throughout the equatorial waters that kept wandering seafarers at bay. Tales such as those that included great mythic sea monsters, disappearing ships, catastrophic oceanic storms, and most recently; mermaids.


	3. Of Salt & Brine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jake throws a hissy fit that he blew his chances with the merman of his dreams,
> 
> and decides to tell his Grandma all about it.

Looking back on it now, it really did seem a little ridiculous to react to such a marvel like that. And really, it was less than five minutes ago and now Jake was rushing back to the cavern pools where Jade sat perched above the water on a boulder. She watched, half preoccupied by her new collection of shells to really pay attention to the frantic boy as he shoveled simple, round scallop shells from his pockets and dumped them by the handful into the waves. Anyone outside of the situation might think he looked mad, or maybe like he was making some kind of offering to a pagan sea god some or other.

 

But if that thought deterred Jake, it didn’t for long before he plopped himself ass-first into the sand and waited. Shorts, thoroughly sanded, forehead glistening with sweat, but his eyes trained on the water with an intense determination.

 

Lo and behold, the merman couldn’t help but return. The shells must have been enough. Although, much more tentatively, and when Jake held out a hand for him to drop his bounty into; instead, the great fish reached up, and with lightning speed dropped cowries into the sand before him and then bolted. A vibrant tail, orange like fluorescent coral, flailed upwards once and made the water ripple violently before he shot down into the depths again and was gone.

 

Jake shouted out loud in frustration and ran his hands through his hair before letting out a long puff of breath and falling back on the sand with his arms and legs spread. From this angle, he might even look like a sweaty starfish boy. But that thought only made Jade giggle.

 

Shooting her a playful glare, Jake let out a huff of breath before he sighed. “Oh, ha-ha. Have your laugh. I’d tell you to try and make friends with a mermaid, but you’ve already went and done it!”

 

He gained no satisfaction from the way Jade beamed down at him, not entirely understanding the full weight of his words. She was, just a child after-all. Old enough to speak, but not yet entirely old enough to comprehend. Or maybe she just didn’t care. Who would? Life was really nice on this island, there was nobody to complain about how well you understood the next bloke over or not. Every day was sun and sand and natural luxury and there was no way Jake could really scold her for that.

 

“You scared him, Jake.”

 

She said resolutely, and that only made him heave another sigh. Pushing himself up onto his elbows and staring down at the water between the calloused ridges of his feet, Jake frowned.

 

“Yeah, I know. But I didn’t mean to.”

 

He pouted, but as long as he stared, the merman didn’t resurface.

 

“Maybe we can all be friends!”

 

Jade said this hopefully, but it really only did well to sour his mood further.

 

“Me and the fish, and you and the fish, and me and you and the fish. We’ll all be best friends! And live happy ever after friends.”

 

The sun had been setting unnoticed, and Jake couldn’t tell if his eyes were stinging because of the sea salt on the breeze, or the fiery orange reflection on the waves, or definitely-not-the-fact-that-he-wanted-to-cry-a-little-at-the-improbability-of-befriending-a-mythical-sea-creature. Scrambling up from the ground, Jake turned on her and held out his hand to help her down from the boulder.

 

The moment he pulled Jade into his arms and picked his shoes back up he huffed.

 

“That’s enough of that, let’s go home Jade. It’s getting late.”

 

With her arms wrapped around his neck, Jake did the best to keep her balanced so she didn’t drop any of today’s treasures. And then, began the long trek back along to beach towards home. He had already decided, he was definitely going to tell his grandma about his first encounter, with merkind.

 

* * *

 

 

There was always something so refreshing about returning home. You see, their grandma had decided to pressure the Puerto Rican government for a good slice of uninhabitable land, and she would have never won the bargain if Grandpa wasn’t such a big shot. But when you worked in the traveling agency and your partner in crime was a natural activist, really how could they say no? The Isla de Mona got popularity worldwide thanks to Grandpa’s magazine debuts, and Grandma made sure to never rent to anyone else but conservationists like herself. That’s why there were only really three families living on the entire 77 km of otherwise untouched island.

 

So she plotted a long time, as she always did, and finally decided on planting a quaint little house on the cozy southern end of the isle, just a place for herself to oversee the land preservation. But that sure didn’t last long. See, Grandma was also a builder, as ambitious as she was wily. And now the place was nearly four stories tall, a little crooked looking, and the top tier was a small observatory. And all of it, running only on natural energy! Gadzooks, what a woman.

 

Jake always did hope to be more like her some day.

 

Jade always was the more outgoing type.

 

When the two were close enough to see the aged knots in the wooden door up front, Jake was more than out of breath and had been carrying a dozing Jade on your back for the last 25 minutes at least. But thankfully when he reached out to knock, his Grandmother was quicker and had cracked open the door before he could rap twice. She examined the state of the two over the rim of her rounded glasses and then reached out to ruffle his hair.

 

“Now, Jakob it looks like you’ve tuckered yourself out again.”

 

He looked up into those watery green eyes and the lines of her face lifted a little when she beamed down at him and reached out to hurry the two of her grandchildren inside.

 

“Oh, tch.”

 

She only scoffed when they were both safely inside the house, and Jake glanced over his shoulder to see exactly what she was looking at. Jade, of course. Nothing escapes her. She might be old, but she had eyes like a falcon. At least, that’s what she says.

 

“Were you two down by the bay?”

 

Just as quickly, he shook his head, and helped her by sliding Jade off your back and into her open arms. Jake took his usual seat to the side of the dinner table closest to the windows where the smell of a homemade meal was already wafting through from the next room.

 

“Nuh-uh. We went out to the cove.”

 

The immediate reaction was a click of her tongue and Jake huffed, prepared to defend himself. Their games of tag really did tend to get out of hand sometimes- and the call of adventure was a strong one! It just somehow lead to ruined clothes a lot more often than it didn’t. But instead, once Grandma Harley had laid Jade down across the couch where she could curl up more comfortably, she turned on him and just shook her head, sending gray hairs flying full mast.

 

“No wonder it took you so long coming home. I was just about to sic Halley on the two of you and have her haul you back.”

 

And then, with a less stern demeanor and more of a twinkle in her eye, she started the trek into the kitchen and called back out more softly;

 

“Did you have fun, dear?”

 

“Oh  **yes** indeed, Gram. You won’t believe what Jade and I found today!”

 

Her hearty chuckle drifted back towards him from the other room, and that alone was enough to reignite any of his earlier excitement. Straining sideways to try and get a peek into the kitchen after her, he drummed his fingers on the edge of the table until he absolutely could not sit still.

 

“Oh, is that right?”

 

“MHM!”

 

Startled by how loud his exclaim was, Jake tried to settle for fidgeting upright until he heard her footsteps creeping back. And then she rounded the corner with a pot in one hand and a ladle in the other and he absolutely beamed.

 

“We were racing eachother on the beach, farther than we ever went, really. And-”

 

“Oh, who won?”

 

Used to the interruption, Jake barely fumbled before shrugging sheepishly and continuing on.

 

“Well, Jade, obviously.”

 

“Ohoo-hoo, she is a wily one, huh.”

 

Yes, but that wasn’t the i m p o r t a n t to the story. Jake nodded quickly, and she went to scoop some of his dinner out of the pot.

 

“Yes, but we were racing eachother. And we were carrying lots of shells from hunting earlier-”

 

“Mhm.” Some thick, dark soup splashed against the edges of a bowl he already knew was set just for him while Jake didn’t even pause for a second.

 

“And so I had to keep stopping and picking up the ones Jade dropped, but that just slowed me down.”

 

Another soft slap as more soup was added to his bowl, and then Grandma went about filling her own.

 

“And did you get them all?”

 

“Yeah, and then-”

 

She shot Jake a mischievous look from across the table and intercepted him again.

 

“Jade gets awfully fussy when she loses them, you know that.”

 

Probably best to leave out the fact that he thought he’d completely lost her for a tick. “Uh-huh, I know Gram. So then when I looked up, she was so far ahead of me I couldn’t see her. And I had to climb some really big rocks-”

 

“Oh, really? You went rock climbing too?” Grandma asked as she moved on towards the teapot that had been cooling in the middle of the table, and Jake shook his head briskly.

 

“No, not really. Just some boulders. So I scaled ‘em, and on the other side Jade had went and found a cove!”

 

With his arms coming up from under the table, Jake stretched them out real wide in one big circular sweep, like the cave’s mouth. Grandma glanced up from her careful pouring and nodded with an enthused hum. And Jake, still enthusiastically telling his story, didn’t miss a beat.

 

“And when I went and jogged on over there she’d ruined her sundress in the sand-” another tongue click for that. Jade sure was going to get chastised a lot when she was old enough to understand. “And she’d had a lot of her shells all spread out on her skirts and the like. I didn’t think much of it really, but then I saw it wasn’t normal shells she had but she had some sea glass-”

 

“Tsk.”

 

Jake paused to watch Grandma reach across the table to pour him some tea as well with a tad more sour expression on her face. He nodded silently as a thank you, and waited for her to ramble about some repercussions, but when it didn’t happen right away, he decided to swoop in and save the rest of the island from a convene.

 

“And really I didn’t think it was legitimate glass, because you know nobody on this island litters. But it was! And she told me a fish gave it to her and well I thought to myself ‘she’s being really silly imagining trading shells with a fish!’”

 

Grandma only huffed, still a little caught up on the sea glass he supposed, but now was his chance. While she pulled the kettle away and settled into her seat for dinner, Jake laid down the real kicker.

 

“So, get this. Turns out she didn’t get those shells from any imaginary fish, Gram. It was a real-life m e r p e r s o n! Just like in the books you used to read!”

 

Spoon just in hand, Jake saw his grandmother freeze for a long moment. And when he looked up, her eyes were trained on him, not really leaning either in way of belief, or disbelief. And the slow, lazy heat curled up from his soup, playing at the corners of his vision, but he chose to ignore it. One long second, and another, and neither of them had blinked. Grandma just dug her spoon into her dish and lifted it up to her lips, giving it a slow, thoughtful blow before humming.

 

“And did you actually see it?”

 

“Oh yes I did. With both my eyes.”

 

She brought that spoon up to her lips and drank the contents down, but Jake was much too wound up in all of the events of the day so far that he didn't even think about touching his food yet. Much less his tea. Grandma took her good old time, making a show of spooning two more mouthfuls down before pausing again and looking particularly curious, if anything. And that was better than nothing.

 

"What was it like?"

 

Oh thank GODS that was the e x a c t question he was hoping for.

 

"It was, a boy."

 

Grandma hummed with another spoonful at her lips and pointed it at him for a moment.

 

"A merboy." She corrected.

 

"He was a merboy. He was orange all over, not like a tangerine, but more like a blood orange. It was kind of pretty."

 

"Hmmmmmm" came another long hum. 

 

"His hair was kinda like that too, but he had it! So mermaids aren't bald I suppose. He didn't look all too fishy, and I kept thinking 'maybe he has gills or some weird slime on his arms' or, maybe he's more like a jellyfish. Like what if he can change color you know? Or natural camouflage, ooooh, that would be so cool! But the shame is, I didn't see a lot of him, because I went and scared him off. And then!! Every time I tried to get some more shells out of him, he swam away! But he kept trading shells with Jade before I showed up! And I think he might hate me?"

 

All of what he just said had honestly come out in a bit of rush. So that when Jake was finally done and focused on his grandmother again, he noticed she had been carefully lifting spoon after spoon of soup up to eat it, watching him with the same kind of owlish wonder that she tended to when he told her about his adventures around the island. It just so happened that this was the coolest experience yet! Much more interesting than the time he caught a fish with his hands but lost it, or the other time he and Jade found enough baby shells to make a whole crown of them and played imaginary games for the rest of the day. And this, this was r e a l. This had PROOF. There was a merboy living down in that cove, or damn near close to it, and he could show her any time! He could show damn near anyone. Rose sure liked weird stuff. She would probably l o v e that.

 

"That's nice, Jake."

 

Wait, what?

 

His grandmother reached across the table to carefully pat his arm with one of her lukewarm, weathered hands. And it was then that Jake realized, that she had heard him.

 

"I'm so glad you had fun!"

 

But she hadn't believed a single word of it.


	4. Sea Breeze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake is upset his grandmother didn't believe a word he said about the merboy he found, so he's more determined than ever to rally a group and befriend him to have solid proof.

The air today was especially heady, dogging so strong that neither Harley nor English would fare today's weather. So although Grandma had been outside at the break of the hottest part of the day to water her flowers, Jake stayed inside until the late afternoon. Only when he could feel the salt on the breeze causing a nice, cold draft through the porthole windows did he decide to make a break for it. He called out to Grandma as he left and waved to her before racing down the hillside, determined to reach the other side of the isle by midday. And this time, without Jade. If only for the fact that he didn't want to lose her again.

 

He had made it to the bottom of the hill and into the woodline before town, when he ran out of steam and had to stop and bend over for a breather.

 

The overhanging canopy swayed in the light sea breeze above his head and barely rustled the leaves so much as it caressed them. The entire island seemed to be alive like that. In a harmonious, soothing way. When Jake was a little bit younger he used to watch the trees move with the air currents and said the island was just breathing. And that's likely why all the island goers were just as leisurely. It was a beautiful place to be.

 

Picking himself back up, it was only a short 3 minute walk before the treeline broke again and Jake saw the first house. On the very outskirts like himself and Grandma, the Ampora's lived out here to be closer to the less rocky shoreline. Probably because their Dad was a fisherman and all. He wasn't really close friends with Eridan himself, but Feferi was around his age, and she really liked to babysit Jade when Grandma had to make trips for food and supplies. So he would say that they weren't all on bad terms either. But he also didn't see either of them outside at the moment, and after a glance towards the water, he spotted a boat on the horizon. Which meant their father must've taken the eldest out fishing again and Feferi and Eridan were either with the Maryam's or downtown for the day.

 

So after a moment of watching the boat bob on the water, he continued onward towards town as the rolling sea grass turned into a sandy road. And it did take a lot longer until he came across the first house at the edge of town. But here, he could see the other houses onward, and a line of shops along the docks where import and export came and left the isle.

 

The air was still warm, with a draft of colder breeze from the ocean just beyond everyone's rooftops. When he looked towards the seaside he spotted a sunhat overhanging a beach chair and he beamed. Perfect! He jogged towards the sunbather and soon rounded the chair to look down at the eldest Maryam, with a foil in her arms. Dark, bold tattoos climbed her already dark arms like thick vines, and covered most of her body which was exposed by her modest swimsuit. She stirred when she sensed Jake was there and turned her head towards him, spotting him through her sunglasses and smiling so that her lip ring turned upward.

 

"Hey there Jake. I thought I heard the sound of little feet coming my way."

 

"Good afternoon, Porrim!"

 

He had long since dropped the 'Miss' he used to lead with, if only because Porrim practically begged him to. She honestly made him a little bit nervous. But then again, pretty ladies tended to make him that way. She slowly unfurled a sarong she had been using as a pillow behind her head and wrapped it around her neck so that the cloth spilled down her body and covered her swimsuit. Then she sat up and folded her foil in her hands, setting it to the side before addressing him again with her deep, drawling voice.

 

"Are you looking for Naya? She's on the veranda. I believe she has one of her friends over right now but I'm sure she wouldn't mind more company."

 

Looking towards his shoes for a second, Jake fidgeted before nodding and Porrim picked herself up from her chair to pat him on the head. When Jake stole a glance up at her she was smiling warmly.

 

"C'mon kid. I'll let you inside."

 

"Thank you!" Smiling a little sheepishly, Jake followed after her as Porrim picked up her foil and lead him around to the front of the house. The only way to the back porch, since it was elevated, was through.

 

"Is Feferi over right now?"

 

"Hmm, no. Just Rose today. She came by earlier to give Kanaya a book that she had borrowed but she didn't stay long."

 

Then as a wistful afterthought Porrim snorted. "Those Peixes girls have a lot of energy."

 

She opened the door to their house and Jake was immediately wafted a breath of fresh, frigid cold air. In a way, their house was a haven on the hottest island days. But when you were rushing from their hot tub out back and had to make a break for a towel at the other end of the house; it was colder than Jotunheim. Most of the place was an open floorplan. Jake could look to the right, into the livingroom and dining room closet to the front of the house. And to the immediate left was the kitchenette. Beyond that was the hallway that lead back to the Maryam's bedrooms. He had seen Kanaya's room only once, but even if he had visited it a million times he didn't think he could count all of the books she owned. And she and Rose traded them back and forth like fiends. Feferi had only recently joined their secret little book exchange, but she didn't have many she could offer besides ones they already read so more often than not she was borrowing books from the both of them.

 

Straight ahead, they pushed past the glass doors and onto the veranda. It had a wide, elevated view of the dunes that lead down to the waves that roared away in the background. The hot tub was empty to the left, but Kanaya and Rose lifted their heads to look their way where they were conspiratorially close to one another on a bench.

 

"Oh, Jake! Good afternoon."

 

"Hi Kanaya, Hi Rose!"

 

Rose lifted one hand from the open book they were poring over to wave at him and smiled demurely. She was younger than him by half a year but he didn't think he knew a single person that acted more adult. He was almost envious.

 

A warm hand came down on his shoulder and gave Jake a pat or two before receding and he looked up at Porrim.

 

"Well, I'll leave the three of you to it. I have to head to the docks soon to meet Meenah when she gets back. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. The dial for the hot tub is by the dirty towel bin."

 

She winked and then pushed her way back into the house, and the very moment she did, Rose closed the book and leaned forwards with a curious spark in her eye.

 

"So, Jake. What brings you to our neck of the island? I figured you would be halfway to Atlantis by this time of day."

 

"Actually! Not far from it. Which is why I was looking for you."

 

She and Kanaya shared an intrigued eyebrow raise before Rose grinned and patted the seat beside her.

 

"Have a seat. Tell me ALL about it."

 

* * *

 

 

By the time Jake finished talking about the merman he and Jade stumbled across the other day, Rose was on the edge of her seat and he was well winded. Kanaya was looking at him with something akin to awe on her face, whereas Rose looked; absolutely enthralled. She got this look in her eye when she talked about conspiracies and sea monsters, and this was something like it. A wild look that made her seem kind of manic almost, but Jake was used to it so he didn't bat an eyelash. She waited a long moment just to see if he had anything left to say before leaning back and steepling her fingers together.

 

"Well. I have to admit I've done my fair share of research on merpeople. Given the climate, and the lack of communication, I would rule out that he's a siren, or that he's anything but a tropical merman. Less likely to travel, because he's used to warmer waters. He might even live in that cove you found."

 

"You think so?"

 

She nodded and tapped her chin for a moment before she glanced at Kanaya and handed off the heavy book they had cracked open earlier. Pushing herself onto her feet, she placed a hand on her hip and pointed at him.

 

"I could be wrong. You're going to have to take me with you. So I can conduct research at the cove. Maybe we can find out just where he came from, and what he's doing here."

 

He didn't want to interrupt and say that he was probably just living, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Rose was already looking back down at Kanaya.

 

"Are you coming with us?"

 

After a moment of consideration, Kanaya shook her head with a smile. 

 

"I probably shouldn't. Somebody needs to be here when Porrim gets back, and I've stayed home plenty of times." And then, she helped herself to her feet and hugged the book to her chest. "But I could let you guys borrow my camera, if it helps any."

 

"Oh! What a great idea! It's waterproof, right?"

 

Kanaya nodded and all of this made Jake's heart swell a little bit. It meant a lot to have friends that just, believed in you. Rose waved him after them as they wandered back inside and towards Kanaya's room so that they can put the book away and grab her camera. Back in her room with it's sea green accents and thick comforter, she set the book on her desk and Jake glanced at the title. Judging by the fangs on the front of the book, it seemed to be a vampire novel.

 

She handed Rose a small, simple black camera and extra film, grabbed a much smaller novella to hand over as well, before looking back at Jake.

 

"This could help you too, Rose. Do take good care of it. Jake. While you're out there, make sure to bring back some shells for me. I'm working on an art project and I could use cowries."

 

"Sure thing! I can do that."

 

"Thank you." Her smile was so sweet it could give a man cavities. Rose grinned back and hugged Kanaya before shrugging towards the door.

 

"We should go right away, before the sun gets any lower. See you later Kanaya!"

 

"Be safe!"

 

Rolling her eyes at that, Rose grabbed Jake by the arm, ever eager, and dragged him back through the hall and towards the front of the house. He barely got to wave goodbye to Kanaya before they were already out the door and back into the island heat. The temperature outside was in such stark contrast to their cold house that Jake shuddered before Rose turned towards him.

 

"Lead the way."


	5. Sinking Horizon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now with a tagalong group, Jake is here to prove a point. And this particular merman, seems to favor anybody but him.

With Rose in tow, Jake marched onward through the town without so much as batting an eyelash. He had a goal in mind and places to be! And then maybe if they captured a good picture of the merman, his grandmother would HAVE to believe him. And just imagine what kind of a wall photo that would make!

 

"Another question!"

 

Rose's voice cut through Jake's train of thought and derailed it temporarily. He looked back at her and reached for the camera. When she handed it to him, he slung it around his neck by the cord and then nodded.

 

"Go on!"

 

"Right, so. Can you describe what his tail shape seemed to be? It may describe some qualities that you may have missed."

 

It, really wasn't so easy. Jake tried to remember as much as he could, straining his mind for answers, but really he hadn't seen him that close.

 

"Well," he began a little sheepishly. "He hadn't really come up from the water. I saw fins I think? Jutting out the sides. But the most of him was really hard to see. The water out there gets pretty dark."

 

"No, that's perfectly fine. If he has more fins then it may say he's built for speed. Debating on shape and spines he could be the predatory type."

 

He didn't really tend to get that vibe. But maybe that was because all he's seen the merguy do is trade seashells with a 6 year old. But then again he could be completely different when he was under the water.

 

"J A K E!!!"

 

Nearly jumping out of his skin, Jake froze up and turned his head just in enough time to be promptly tackled to the ground by the full force of Feferi Peixes. He squealed like a pig and hit the ground with a thud. Wide, bright blue eyes peered down at him, and so did that fiendish smile of hers. Her long black hair was pull back from her face today, but it still couldn't quite be contained and spilled around her shoulders in voluminous beach waves that flew everywhere with the smallest movement.

 

Rose could be heard snickering in the background, and the sound of slower approaching footsteps confirmed that she and Eridan must have been out together for the day. After glancing around, Feferi pouted and looked back at him with a frown.

 

"Where's my little lilypad? Did she stay at home today?"

 

"You mean Jade? Uh, yeah she's home for the day with gran."

 

"Oh, b o o o o o o~"

 

Feferi harrumphed before picking herself up off of him and holding out a hand to help him up. He accepted and began to brush himself off when she inspected their troupe of two a little more closely. And then she pointed at his chest.

 

"Isn't that Kanaya's camera? What are you two doing heading this way with that?"

 

"Well you see-"

"We're going to document proof of merpeople."

 

Rose seemed to get it out before Jake could come out and say it himself. But it didn't matter either way, Eridan was already scoffing. He glanced Eridan's way and took in the scowl on his little pale face.

 

"Then you're straight outta luck. You're not gonna find nothin like mermaids around here. Or nowhere else."

 

A little indignant, Jake shook his head. "Wha- But I saw one just yesterday!"

 

"You did??"

" ** _You DID???_** " Feferi and Eridan interrupted, with the former leaning towards Jake with wide eyes and a big grin.

 

She looked absolutely mystified and Jake shifted his weight from foot to foot. He nodded, reaching up to scratch at the back of his head.

 

"Well, yeah. Jade kinda found him first. They were trading seashells in a cove to the South."

 

Nearly shaking with excitement, Feferi spun in a little circle before waving her hands excitedly in a short burst of energy. Eridan only scowled, already knowing what was about to come, and crossed his arms over his chest.

 

"Oh  _PRETTY PLEASE_  say I can come with you guys!!! That sounds so  _ **EXCITING** **!!!**_ "

 

"What about  _me_?"

 

Eridan had interjected, looking a little more than peeved at the idea. Turning on him, Feferi tilted her head quizzically.

 

"What about you?"

 

He scoffed. Feferi seemed to realize how that sounded and then corrected herself by saying;

 

"Well I mean, Dad and Cronus will be back real soon. You can obviously take care of yourself, because you tell me all the time! You're a big boy Eridan! Unleeeeeess~" She planted her feet in the ground and bent at the waist to grin at him.

 

"Unless you come with us!~~~" 

 

Something in the way she sing-songed made Eridan's face heat up. He grunted and turned his head to the side to try and hide it but it didn't really help. The tips of his ears were bright red too. He pouted as he mulled it over, and Feferi only seemed to get more enthused. Her eyes widened, her face pleading with him the whole time until Eridan threw up his hands in exasperation.

 

"FINE! Alright, fine already. I'll just come with you." And then he narrowed his eyes at Rose, and then Jake. "But not because I'm expectin to see any mermaids. Mermaids OBVIOUSLY aren't real."

 

He sniffled a little, straightened his back and held out his hand for Feferi to take.

 

"It's cause someone needs to protect you."

 

Everything had happened so fast, that now their troupe of two had doubled and Jake barely had any time to gather his head from his knock to the ground. Shaking the sand out of his hair, he was a bit slower to push himself off the ground, and Rose stepped up to help dust himself off while his thoughts still swam.

 

"So? What can you offer of value to our research!"

 

Both Feferi and Eridan's heads swiveled his way. But while Eridan rolled his eyes, Feferi took this very seriously and quickly saluted so hard there was a soft smack of her hand hitting her forehead.

 

"I probably read every little mermaid story in the whole town! And I also!! Am really good at boosting morale!"

 

"I don't really see what the latter has as a benefit."

 

Although Rose butted in, Jake shrugged and pointed to Eridan.

 

"Good enough. Eridan! What can you contribute?"

 

"Cynicism."

 

"Great! Onward it is then!

 

* * *

 

By the time the four of them had picked their way down to the beach, the sun was dropping low in the sky, turning the waves a barely kissed orange hue. The waves were currently experiencing lowtide, making avoiding the boulders Jake had to leap across last time possible and the travel a lot easier. His bare palm brushed against the side of one when he pushed past and came away still wet with yesterday's water.

 

At some point, Feferi had pushed ahead of everyone else in her excitement, and he watched her pick a sea star off the side of a rock before wading into the water and setting it down and jogging back. She splashed Eridan where he stood in the wet sand waiting and he looked towards his legs with disgust before moving on.

 

"Is that it up there???"

 

Peering around another boulder, Jake followed Feferi's line of vision towards the cliffside that was looming ahead, and the cove hidden behind boulders at its base. 

 

"Yep! That'd be it! But do be careful rushing in, the water is rather deep out there! It juts into the ocean!"

 

She nodded enthusiastically but still sprinted forwards anyways, as she tended to do. Eridan didn't even try to keep up, deciding to hang behind, but Rose picked up the pace and left Jake to bring up the rear while she hugged the book Kanaya had given her to her chest.

 

They had to scale the last couple of rocks before the cavern entrance, but after yesterday's excursion, Jake knew the land like the back of his hand. When he pushed himself over and dropped down, his feet sunk into the sand again, and everyone was already waiting for him. Rose had decidedly taken a spot on a small outcropping more towards the cavern wall, making herself cozy among the natural rock formations. Feferi was of course, closest to the water and currently peering down into the placid waves here, trying to look into the deep. Eridan, not far behind, was frowning again.

 

"Great. Now that we're here, how do you expect us to see anything at all? This water is black."

 

Raising an eyebrow as she cracked open the small book, Rose was nothing but quick to reply. "That shouldn't be an issue if you don't believe in mermaids."

 

He puffed up his cheeks for a moment as his cheeks blossomed in red before huffing.

 

"NOT that I expect to find anything in the first place, but if we came out here to see something this is some crappy location. If I were a mermaid I wouldn't want to be found. And this drop off is going to help."

 

The water was so different from yesterday. It had dropped so much that the first shelf that Jade could have been swallowed by was now exposed, only a mere inch of liquid covering the outcropping. And upon closer inspection, it was not loose sand as Jake had originally expected, but hard, long-carved out pumice-like material. It seems the water pressure and the shade from the cliff had been the perfect equation for sandstone. Feferi very nearly stuck her leg out to hop down before Jake called out and shook his head at her and she retracted herself obediently.

 

"Well, it wasn't too hard to see him when he was coming up, anyway. He's a really bright gold color, so I thought maybe-"

 

"If we can illicit any reaction, we'll know he's here."

"Yes, thank you Rose."

 

Bounding over to the edge of the water, Jake peered down at the sandstone drop off and scanned along both left and right. This, posed more of an issue than water being there. Because now he wasn't so sure that even if they could call the merman, he would be able to get out or trade with them.

 

"Hmm..."

 

"What is it?" Feferi asked.

 

"The lowtide might make it really hard for him to reach us. Hold on.."

 

He tapped a finger against his chin, beginning to walk the length of the shelf. Farther into the cove, it did dip lower into the waves again, but not enough to cover a person of his size. Or, he figured, the mermaid. As he went, he tried to scoop up any shell that seemed mildly interesting. But then, AHA!

 

"Over here!"

 

He could hear the sounds of Feferi's and Eridan's footsteps following up behind him, as he pointed down into the open waves.

 

"Because of this rock column, the sand made a pocket, kind of. So this is where we should try to get him to appear."

 

"Oh! Good idea! He could pull himself up using the rocks!"

 

"Mhm! Now," He turned and presented his hands and what few shells he could find to his friends. 'I'm going to try dropping some shells in the water again. I figure, he'll hear it like he did before, and try to trade with me."

 

Only, that isn't what happened at all. With the very first shell he dropped, his little entourage hung over the water with him, waiting. And there was no response. He reassured them he may just be confused because, this was a new spot. And tried again.

 

And again.

 

Now he only had two shells left in his arsenal. He dropped another, and Eridan had already lost interest. In fact, he sat by the water for so long just, watching, that even Feferi lost interest. Ad that was a nearly IMPOSSIBLE feat.

 

The very last shell he had was a rather pitiful one but he was hoping it wouldn't have come to this one. It was small, and a little chipped; but it was a gray scallop shell in the end so he figured the mermaid would like it.  And now he sat, with his chin on his arms, and no hope left.

Feferi was back on the sandstone shelf, having hopped down and she was flexing her bare toes in the water while Eridan watched warily from a couple of feet away. Rose, still with her nose buried in her book, hummed when Jake piped up, sounding glum.

 

"I don't know why it's not working. He usually loves scallop shells."

 

"Have you thought that maybe he might be afraid?"

 

"Well-"

 

She flipped another page in her book, and continued on, cutting him off.

 

"I'm almost positive seeing as stone is pretty good for traveling reverberations, and nothing conducts sound better than water; he can hear us. All of us. He would know that there are at least four of us here. I would be pretty startled. He's only seen you and Jade so far."

 

Feferi's head bobbed above the ledge, her fingers digging into the sand and causing it to cave a little and fall into the water around her feet.

 

"Ooh! Maybe if we sit really really still for a couple minutes?"

 

"That's definitely something for you to say."

 

Pouting at the retort, Feferi turned back around and guessing by how Eridan groaned and told her that her skirt was going to be ruined, Jake guessed she must've flopped onto the shelf and stuck her legs into the water.

 

He looked back at the water and furrowed his eyebrows, wracking his brains for something, anything they could do. What else could a part human part fish creature want? He thought he vaguely remembered a story about them liking shiny things? But he didn't have any baubles to give. Maybe if he asked Grandma really nicely when he got home, she could give him something. But he wasn't sure she would want to part with something so valuable.

 

"Have you thought of imitating his prey?"

 

"Imitating w h a t??"

 

He swiveled to look at Rose and she looked above the edges of the book she was reading and then shut it, being sure to keep a finger in the pages where she left off.

 

"This is a book on mer-facts. Kanaya has the most extensive collection of books on the entire island. And she was right to suggest we take it. It just says here that you shouldn't think of them as human first. They are, in the end, an entirely different species, and will think like one. So maybe if you imitate what he eats, he'll feel the instinctive urge to hunt."

 

"That. Sounds absolutely terrifying."

 

That made Rose smile.

 

"Of course, the thing I am wondering is where merpeople lie on the food chain. He could just be breathing in plankton and krill like a whale. We don't really know for sure."

 

"I feel like imitating a plankton would be quite hard to pull off-"

**_SPLASH!_ **

"FEF! GUYS!! **G U Y S**!"

 

There were ripples still spreading from where Feferi had fell into the waves. And by the time Jake scrambled to his feet and Rose jumped down from the rocks, Eridan was already bare chested and halfway out of his pants; entirely prepared to dive in after her.

 

Rose threw her book back towards the rocks and Eridan lost his glasses, dropping down over the ledge after Feferi.

 

Jake's heart was pounding.

 

Everything felt like it was moving in incredibly slow motion.

 

He was rushing as fast as he can to the ledge. He knew he was.

 

But the burn of his leg muscles came a second later than it should have.

 

The water was still black. So dark there was no possible way he could see Feferi. Her sandals were discarded between his feet.

 

Even the second splash as Eridan threw himself into the waves felt delayed, but he was gone too.

 

The water completely swallowed him up, over his head, before he resurfaced a second later with his arms flailing around and his mouth sputtering.

 

"Fef!!" He wheezed out her name, but amidst his cartwheeling arms, really he needed more saving than she did. Rose caught on and leapt down after him too, reaching out into the water with one hand secured on the ledge until she could get a hold on his arm and yank him back up and out of the water.

 

"Oh my GOD, Eridan you can't swim! What on earth are you doing????"

 

There sat Feferi, entirely drenched with her long hair plastered to her body around her waist. And with her, sat the merman Jake had seen the day before. His fins were tilted downward and flickering with agitation while he watched the unfortunate scene unfold before him.

 

What the actual heck had just happened??


End file.
